Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Dust We Left

The holes in the door were filled with spider webs and insect eggs. As I approached, the doors grew in stature. Splinters fell to my feet as I moved into the open barren sanctuary. Dust covered every surface, even the light coming through the stain glass windows felt muted. I walked down the aisle, looking down every empty pew. The high vaulted ceiling begged for voices to be raised. In response I began to sing, My inner man heard the choir’s voices being lifted and the organ beckoning the angels to praise our creator. I continued to walk among the pews and dust but as I drew closer to the alter even my once vigorous singing became muted, mirroring the dust on the bibles, pews, windows, and alter. Nothing is more frightening then an abandoned alter and more intimidating then the unused elements sitting complacently upon it.

“In Remembrance of me”
“In Remembrance of me”
“In Remembrance of me”


My eyes and my body drawn to these words etched into the table near the alter, I get on my knees and stare directly at them as if they wish to whisper something to me. I nearly jump to my feet as the jar of anointing oil falls over and spills onto the table. The stream of liquid slides down the surface and leaks off of the letters of the word “me.” From the moment I saw the rotted doors, my heart had been asking where were you? Just as the bread, and the wine, and the oil, and the bibles had been here, He had been here. We were the ones who left this place, not Him. 

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Count, Note, Tour, and Share

Psalm 48:12-14

Go around Zion, encircle it;
count its towers, note its ramparts;
tour its citadels so that you can tell a future generation:
"This God, our God forever and ever- He will always lead us."


All of us have probably seen a movie, tv show, or commercial that contains a scene in which someone in sitting in a car with their eyes pointed upwards towards the tall buildings around them. During this scene there is typically some form of instrumental music playing while the city passes by and the scene fades in and out of focus. This is the picture I see when I read this verse. But this is not the full concept that is presented in Psalm 48. The commands in this song are not just to tour the city. Instead there are instructions to count, note, observe (an obvious part of touring), and then to share. This hopeful form of observation of the world around us that leads to a sharing of hope in God is both comforting and convicting. I see a way in which one can see the world around us and be convicted into having their eyes opened to God's leading. But I can also see a way in which one should be convicted by the ruin of a city. How might one mourn the broken towers, the crumbled citadels? How can you look at a desolate place and still say that God will always lead us? There is a place where we should be convicted by our own lack of effort towards restoration. But even in this conviction there is hope. The last statement in this Psalm shows a God who is past, present, and future. The phrase "this God" shows God in the present. The phrasing of "forever and ever" shows the reaching existence of God that has always been and will always be. But there is also a nearness to God expressed in this song. God is "this" God, "our" God. All of these aspects, from the picture of touring around a city to the foundational statements about God and our relationship to Him, are the reason why I chose to title this blog Touring Citadels. The hope that is presented as well as our participation in observing and noting and then sharing are all things that resonate deep within me. I want to be a person that counts towers, notes ramparts, tours the citadels for the reason of being able to tell coming generation that God is our God, He is forever, and He will always lead us.